Federer-Nadal compelling French final

Djokovic's streak halted; Rafa can tie Borg's mark

Howard Fendrich Associated Press

Published 1:26 am, Saturday, June 4, 2011

PARIS -- Dusk was descending, wind was swirling and full-throated chants of "Ro-ger! Ro-ger!" from 15,000 or so fans finally were hushing as Roger Federer stepped to the baseline to serve -- one point from returning to the French Open final and one point from ending Novak Djokovic's 43-match winning streak.

Federer rocked back, unfurled his body and whipped an ace, his 18th Friday, to seal a 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) victory over Djokovic, then roared and wagged his right index finger, as if telling the world, "I'm still No. 1!"

So what if the official ranking says otherwise? This was Federer showing he's still got what it takes.

He'll go for a 17th Grand Slam title, and second at Roland Garros, in Sunday's final against longtime nemesis and five-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who eliminated Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to improve to 44-1 at the clay-court major tournament.

By summoning all of the strokes and resolve required to win a taut, tense contest with a lot on the line, Federer also managed to do what no one else had in quite some time: defeat Djokovic, who entered the day 41-0 in 2011 and unbeaten since losing to -- guess who? -- Federer in late November.

"I wasn't here to spoil the party," said the third-seeded Federer, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the 2009 French Open. "Almost feels, somewhat, like I've won the tournament, which is not the case. Silverware is still out there to be won, and I'm looking forward to the match with Rafa."

It'll be their fifth meeting -- and fourth final -- in Paris since 2005. Nadal is 4-0 in those matches, part of his 16-8 overall lead head-to-head.

A sixth French Open title would tie Nadal with Bjorn Borg for the most in history.

In the women's final Saturday, Li Na holds the key to a burgeoning tennis boom in China.

The 29-year-old Li, who is trying to become the first from her country to win a Grand Slam singles title, will face defending champion Francesca Schiavone.

The Australian Open runner-up says "tennis is something of an overlooked sport in China. So I hope that it will become more common in China and that more and more people will become fans."

In January, Li became the first Chinese player to reach a Grand Slam final at the Australian Open.